Bifurcation allows you to use the x16 PCIe interface by splitting it into four x4 PCIe interfaces (x4/x4/x4/x4) in the motherboard. Each of x4 PCIe interfaces then connects to the respective M.2 module, mounted on the carrier board. The new carrier boards themselves are based on the same patented assembly concept as the entire Squid family (U.S. Pat. 9,996,494, additional patent pending). The board is one-slot-wide, and it is located in the middle of the (x16) PCIe slot. Four M.2 circuits (M-key) can be mounted on both sides of the carrier boards (component and soldering), and can accommodate any standard M.2 SSD with x4 PCIe Gen 3.

“Amfeltec Corporation continues its trend of innovation with this unique concept: a bifurcation-dependent carrier board that allows a user to place the maximum number of different modules on both sides of a PCIe carrier board, without violating the actual PCIe standard,” says Michael Feldman, President and CTO at Amfeltec Corp, “This new carrier board brought our patented assembly structure to the cost-effective class of the carrier board – this is due to this Squid Board being compatible only with a motherboard that has bifurcation support.”

Once the motherboard is configured (in BIOS) to split the x16 PCIe bus four ways, the operating system will recognize each module as an individual hard disk, and can combine them as a RAID. Any M.2 PCIe SSD (solid state drive) modules with M-key can then be placed on the carrier board; supported sizes are 2260, 2280 or 22110.

Amfeltec’s Squid family also includes these other M.2 Carrier Boards:

SKU-086-34 (x16 or x8 PCIe Gen 3, for up to four M.2 SSD modules)(2U)

SKU-086-32 (x4 or x8 PCIe Gen 3, for up to two M.2 SSD modules)(2U)

SKU-086-31 (x4 or x1 PCIe Gen 3, for one M.2 SSD module) (1U)

SKU-086-01 (x16 or x8 PCIe Gen 2, for up to four M.2 SSD modules for Mac Pro, 1st generation)(2U)

About Amfeltec Corporation: Amfeltec is a Canadian company, incorporated since 2005. It is a leading provider of complex and innovative solutions for the world’s diverse electronics markets. Amfeltec specializes in electronics engineering, with emphasis on high-speed interconnect technologies, a large variety of computer hardware expansion products, telecommunications, and testing & production tools.

Most of Amfeltec’s products are covered by one or more United States patents.